Aside from the fact that our wonderfully sweet puppy dog put on an embarrassing aggression show with snarling, barking, and biting, he did so well! Surgery went great. Blood work all came back perfect. He has all of his vaccines current. Annual appointment went without a hitch and they were able to do it while he was under (I'm sure a great thing for his vet).
He has a wonderful vet that we absolutely love. They are more expensive than most, but you get what you pay for in this case. She has bee instrumental in getting his weight back up (more on this in a second), patient with his awful attitude, and helpful when we've asked the silly questions. She has Australian Shepherds (probably the closest related breed to the border collie) so she knows exactly how to train/help/guide Murphy. Plus, she has the same name as him! Yes, her name is Dr. Murphy! How perfect is that!?
Since surgery, he is already back to his normal self. He still dazes off into the distance more than usual and hates the cone. He has to wear the cone for another 6-9 days. Older dogs - and aggressive ones - need the cone to keep them safe and handlers safe. Aggressive dogs tend to be on-edge with anxiety and surgery adds to this. Murphy did get pain pills that he doesn't seem to need at the moment (but don't worry, we are finishing the prescription as told) and we specially requested sedatives. This isn't a common post-neuter prescription, but we wanted it. Murphy is so hyper and we were afraid if he were his "normal" active self, he might bust through the stitches. Our puppy, when he gets hyper, digs like crazy, jumps super high, and flips in the air. The sedatives are definitely helping.
Last night he and I spent the night at my parents (without Phillip). Phillip wanted to come but because of work, he was unable to. He helped me drop him off at the vet and then left. I wanted to be close to his vet and their recommended emergency vet just in case. Plus, they have a slightly smaller backyard and ability to have him out in smaller increments. It worked out really well and we came home this afternoon.
Oh and back to the weight news!!! HE NOW WEIGHS 42 POUNDS!!! That is the most he has ever weighed!!!
He has always had weight/GI issues but now we have the perfect food formula and apparently his weight is improving from it. If you recall, his intestinal bacteria and poor diet made him lose 6 pounds in 3 months. Any weight loss for a puppy is detrimental, and that much was scary. At his lowest, he was 31 pounds in June and you could easily see his bones through his thick coat. But now, he is full, heavy, and happy. He has gained 11 pounds in 4 months. He is now in the male border collie weight average - still on the lower end, but still. It is a victory. And, his coat is the prettiest we have ever seen.
Murphy will be recovered within 2 weeks. All back to normal. We already can't wait for him to get his cone off. He is just so pitiful and runs into everything. Some things we ARE thankful for: Murphy is really good at taking medicine, he has yet to try to get the cone off his head, and he seems to not be feeling any pain. He takes meds with peanut butter on a spoon that we feed to him. Better than any animal I have ever seen. The cone is an accepted nuisance to him and he hasn't even tried to take it off. And the pain doesn't really bother him. This morning, like the mornings in the near future most likely, he did wake me up to go outside and get medicine. That was a little unusual since he typically sleeps without a peep until we wake him up. But it is definitely understanding. And, with the exception of a near-accident on my parents' doorstep last night when he was really excited to see my dad, he hasn't had any accidents. That's good news.
We're pretty positive about his recover and can't wait to have him off medication and without a cone. His new trick he learned today is throwing his bone in the air and catching it in his cone. He is incredible smart and has alreayd got this game down. See what I mean about accepting the cone and moving on? If you can't beat em, join em. Right?
Hopefully he keeps recovering well. Thanks for your concerns!
No comments:
Post a Comment